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In the most recent incident, a 70-year-old woman in a wheelchair had her purse taken in a shopping centre by an East European man who offered to help push her up the ramp - before making off with her bag.

Both men and women are involved in the thefts but because descriptions of the offenders vary, police do not know how many.

The thieves targeted pensioners on a 17-day crime spree while they were shopping in Bolton.

A major Greater Manchester Police investigation is now under way. As part of the investigation, codenamed Operation Buckbarrow, police handed out 1,000 security devices to pensioners to attach to their purses to stop them being stolen.

The people responsible for these attacks have displayed the utmost cowardice

Det Ch Insp Rick Jackson

Det Ch Insp Rick Jackson said: "The people responsible for these attacks have displayed the utmost cowardice, targeting those that are most vulnerable in our community.

"We are fully committed to catching those responsible and have used maximum resources to investigate the incidents.

"It will remain a priority for us until such time that the culprits are caught."

Police are urging shoppers to avoid leaving bags unattended, or on the back of shopping trolleys.

They also want shoppers to be mindful and report any suspicious behaviour to shop security staff or police.